REVISED COMPENDIUM 
INFORMATION RELATING TO 

South Dakota 



t 



1908 



tJOiVl PILED BY 

DOAINE R0BIIV30IN 

Secretary Department of History 



South Dakota has for eleven successive years, IS97, 

1898. 1899, 1900, 190!, 1902. 1903, 1904, 1905, 

1906, 1907, produced more new wealth 

per capita than any other state 



OOIVfPUIiVlEINXS OR 






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NEWS pra. CO., Aberdeen, s. d. 






I^LiBrtARY of COhia^Aalfl 

I' t'wo Oopias Kecfen o: i 

JAH 24 1908 j 




1908 



INTRODUCTION 

This compendium of information relating to 
South Dakota was first compiled and published 
in 1902. Its authority, convenience and inex- 
pensiveness has made it exceedingly popular 
and it is annually revised and brought up to 
date in response to a continued and growing 
demand for it both within and without the 
state. 

1 believe every statement herein is either 
based upon express official information, or is 
true from the personal knowledge of the com- 
piler. 

DOANE ROBINSON, 
Secretary State Historical Society. 
Pierre, January 1, 1908. 



1908 

Compendiuin of Information 




RELATING TO 



SOUTH DAKOTA 



COMPILED B¥ 

DOAIVJe ROBIINSOIS^ 

Secretary Department of- History 



HISTORICAL- 

South Dakota probably visited' by Raddisson 
and Groselliers, 1659. 

By LeSeuer's voyageurs, 1683. 

By Verendrye- 1745. 

Fur trade established, 1796. 

Explored by Lewis and Clark, 1804. 

Indian title extinguished, 1859. 

First permanent agricultural settlement. May 
10, 1857. 

Territory established, 1861. 

First railroads, 1872. 

Gold discovered in Black Hills, 1874. 

Black Hills opened, 1876. 

Great boom of homesteaders, 1880-1883. 

Admitted as a state, November 2, 1889. 

Population 

The census of 1905 gives South Dakota 455,- 
185 people. 

Six to the square mile. 

The center of population is near Carthage, 
Miner county. 

Her population is chiefly American. 

Those not American born are north of Europe 
immigrants. 

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All are thoroughly American in spirit. 

South Dakotans are intelligent, moral, public- 
spirited, energetic. 

They make the best neighbors in the world. 

Estimated population, January 1, 1908, 493,- 
500. 

Foreigners 

There are 33,473 Scandinavians, 17,873 Prus- 
sian Germans and 12,365 Russian Germans, 
11,144 Canadians, 5,564 from England, Scotland 
and Wales, 3,298 Irish and 1,566 Hollanders. 

Occupations 

By occupation the people are engaged as fol- 
lows: 82,857 are farmers, 16,821 are engaged 
in domestic and personal service, 15,274 are in 
trade' and transportation, 14,327 follow mechan- 
ical pursuits, 7,877 are in the professions. 
There are 147,165 school children and 107,053 
voters. 

Homes 

The state has 83,536 homes; 57,288 homes 
are owned by the occupants; 37,483 homes are 
free from encumbrance. 

Property and Taxation 

South Dakota's assessed valuation is $260,- 
000,000. 

The true valuation is more than a billion 
dollars. 

State taxes are limited by the constitution to 
two mills on the dollar. 

South Dakota is conducted for less money 
and gets more service for the money spent than 
any other state. 

The state has no bonded debt. 

Public affairs are managed upon the xnost 
conservative basis. 

State credit unsurpassed. 

Area and Topography 

The area is 76..000 square miles. 

The state is divided into almost equal parts 
by the Missouri river. 

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With the exception of the rich mining district 
in the southwest corner, it is all rich farming- 
and pasture land. 

It is splendidly watered by streams and 
lakes. 

Surface wells are secured everywhere. 

Artesian wells are found everywhere west of 
the Sioux valley. 

The general surface is gently undulating and 
rises very gradually from the James river to 
the Black Hills. 

The average elevation is 1,200 feet. 

The greatest altitude is at Harney peak, in 
the Black Hills, which is 7,200 feet high. 

The Soil 

There are three distinct qualities of soil, all 
of which are productive. 

East of the Missouri river the state is cov- 
ered by a glacial clay, upon which is a deep 
coat of vegetable mould. 

Along the west side of the Missouri the soil 
is a tenacious clay produced from mountain 
erosion. 

Fifty miles back from the Missouri, and cov- 
ering the western portion, is found the black, 
sandy loam of the Laramie formation. 

The Climate 

The climate is bright, healthful and invig- 
orating. 

The average annual rainfall east of the Mis- 
souri is 21 inches. 

More than 12 inches of this falls in the five 
growing months. 

The following are the official figures for rain- 
fall from April to August, 1907. at points 
named : 
Sioux Valley — Inches 

Milbank 13.91 

Watertown 10 . 08 

Brookings 14.86 

Sioux Falls • 15.50 

4 



James Valley — 

Aberdeen 12.91 

Huron 11.01 

Mitchell 17 . 84 

Missouri Valley — 

Bowdle . . ' 11.29 

Pierre 12 . 56 

Yankton 20 . 34 

Black Hills- 
Rapid City 14 . 00 

The monthly average precipitation for twen- 
ty years at the government signal station at 
Huron, in the James river valley, has been as 
follows: Inches 

January 0.53 

February - . 50 

March 0.99 

April 2.92 

May 2.69 

June 3.69 

July 2.93 

August 2 . 59 

September 1.66 

October 1.34 

November 0.59 

December 0.59 

The average summer is delightful. 
The average winter is mild, agreeable and 
almost snowless. 

Temperature 

The normal mean temperature for^^faatiary^ 
and February is 11 degrees above zero. 

The average temperature for the year is 42.3. 

The monthly average at Huron for twenty 
years has been as follows: 

January 10.1 

February 12.6 

March 27.0 

April 46.9 

May 56.3 

June 65 . 9 

July 71.9 

August 69 . 9 

5 



September . .56 . 3 

October ..47.6 

November 39,5 

December ..15.4 

Live stock grazes the prairie ranges all win- 
ter without shelter. 

Productions 

The following table of productions is taken 
from the Annual Review of the progress of the 
state for 1907, compiled by the State Historical 
Society, and was not intended for advertising 
purposes, but to set down the historical fact: 

Wheat, 30,292,818 bushels $ 24,234,250.40 

Corn, 54,561,268 bushels 27,280,634.00 

Oats, 36,942,508 bushels 14,037,153.04 

Barley, 20,438,257 bushels 14,306,779.90 

Flax, 5,000,000 bushels 5,000,000.00 

Speltz, 3,500,000 bushels 1,400,000.00 

Hay, 3,150,000 tons 14,175,000.00 

Potatoes, veg-etables and fruits. . 5,000,000.00 

Dairy products 8,000,000.00 

Eggs and poultry 5,000,000 . 00 

Honey 25,000 . 00 

Livestock 34,173,527 . 45 

Wool and hides 600,000 . 00 

Minerals and stone 7,000,000.00 



Total for year $160,232,344.79 

The growth of the state in productions since 
this department was organized in 1901 has been 
steadily progressive. The following table gives 
the totals by years and the increase: 

Value of 
Year Productions Increase 

1900 $106,500,000.00 

1901 ' 113,652.750.00 $ 7,152,750.00 

1902 119,949,000.00 6,492,250.00 

1903 136,124,000.00 16,175,000.00 

1904* 116,792,000.00 

1905 126,686,261.00 9,994,261.00 

1906 145,812,831.29 19.128,590.29 

1907 160,232,344.74 14,311,513.80 

* Wheat lost bv rust. 



Our Actual Marketings 

South Dakota is peculiarly well situated to 
secure an accurate determination of the amount 
of productions which she actually supplies to 
the general markets, as all we produce, except 
sufficient for home consumption, is sold in mar- 
kets outside of the state and is carried to those 
markets by the railroads. The following table 
is made upon the reports of the several rail- 
roads operating in South Dakota as to the 
amount of freight carried out of South Dakota 
for the fiscal year ending July 1, 1907: 

Wheat. 34,417,199 bushels $22,371,179.35 

Corn, 8,972,124 bushels 3,140,243.35 

Oats, 18,959,379 bushels 4,929,437.54 

Barley, 16,813,431 bushels 5,884,700.85 

Flax, 4,441,000 bushels 4,751,870.00 

Rye, 572,081 bushels 286,040.50 

Cattle, 274,737,715 pounds 15,736,885.75 

Hogs, 196,047,225 pounds 11,762,835.50 

Horses, 24,825,060 pounds 1,988,004.80 

Sheep, 28,096,690 pounds 1,685,801 . 40 

Dairy products, poultry, eggs, 
hides, wool, hay, potatoes, vege- 
tables, fruits and minor pro- 
ducts 18,425,000 . 00 



Grand total for 1907 $90,961,999.09 

Grand total for 1906 87,919,856.85 



Net increase $ 3,042,142 . 24 

Wheat 

Wheat growing is a prominent industry and 
is pursued with profit. 

White, or bread wheat, of the spring variety, 
is chiefly produced. 

About 30 per cent of the entire crop is maca- 
roni, or durum wheat. 

Winter wheat growing is a new industry and 
meets with success where tried. 

For twenty years the average spring wheat 
crop has been twelve bushels per acre. 

7 



In 1905 and 1906 the average was fifteen 
bushels. 

Durum wheat yields twenty-one bushels on 
the average. 

Modern methods cultivate, harvest and mar- 
ket the wheat crop at a nominaL cost. 

The Corn Belt 

South Dakota lies in the corn belt. 
The crop constantly increases in importance. 
In 1907 it surpassed the wheat crop in value 
by $3,000,000. 

Live Stock 

The live stock industry vastly exceeds any 
other in importance. 

For 1903 the live stock industry, exclusive of 
dairying, yielded the state $35,950,164. 

Cattle, horses, hogs and sheep all thrive on 
our nutritious native grasses. 

The wonderful western range for stock cattle, 

Where stock graze all winter without hay, 
grain or shelter, and 

The fertile farms of the grain belt, for finish- 
ing, afford a combination of interests and op- 
portunities not elsewhere equaled for live stock 
money-making. 

By the last federal census South Dakota had 
$160 worth of live stock per capita, Iowa $122, 
Minnesota $49 and Wisconsin $45. 

Dairying 

Dairying is an already well-established indus- 
try and is destined to become the most valu- 
able. 

Every condition is favorable to successful 
dairying. 

The state dairy and food commission approxi- 
mate the value of the dairy product for the cur- 
rent year at $8,000,000. 

There are in the state 152 creameries. 

There are 325,000 milch cows. 

The native grasses give a peculiarly pleasant 
flavor and a solidarity of texture to butter 



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which places it at the very top of the eastern 
market. 

By the last federal census, South Dakota had 
.62 dairy cows per capita of population, not 
counting 270,285 cows running on the South 
Dakota range, Iowa had .60, Minnesota .32, and 
Wisconsin, the great dairying state, but .36. 

Sheep 

South Dakota is particularly adapted to sheep 
raising. 

The climate and grasses join in contributing 
healthy and splendidly flavored mutton. Da- 
kota lambs invariably top the Chicago market. 

Wool of the finest staple is produced, but the 
mutton breeds are most grown by South Da- 
kota sheepmen. 

Hog Breeding 

As the state is fast taking a leading position 
as a corn producer, it naturally follows that 
much attention is given to pork making. Hogs 
are more healthy here than in Illinois and 
Iowa. 

The industry is one of first importance, con- 
tributing annually six million dollars to the 
state's wealth. 

Poultry 

South Dakota is splendidly adapted to poul- 
try growing. The egg and poultry product is 
worth $5,000,000 annually. 

Fruit Growing 

Continued experiments have demonstrated 
that all northern fruits do well in South Da- 
kota. 

South Dakota has two of the largest apple 
orchards in America. 

One is now twenty-two years since planting. 

It stands on high, unprotected prairie. 

It produced 22,000 bushels of splendid apples 
in 1904. 

The other, in the Black Hills, is equally pro- 
lific. 

9 



Plums, cherries and small fruits yield abund- 
antly. 

Last year's apple crop amounted to 217,880 
bushels. 

Forestry 

Tree growing is receiving wide attention. 

Great success attends it. 

In a large portion of the state the horizon 
presents an almost unbroken timber line. 

Ash, box elder, cottonwood and elm are the 
favorite forest trees grown. 

Artesian Weils 

South Dakota has more than three thousand 
artesian wells. 

The basin everywhere west of the Sioux val- 
ley appears to be inexhaustible. 

The wells afford an abundance of water. 

They are under high pressure, affording 
power for many purposes. 

An inch and a quarter well will furnish an 
abundance of water for a section of land. 

Such a well costs from $100 to $600. 

The imwrtance of the artesian wells can 
scarcely be overestimated. 

They afford an abundance of pure water for 
the cities and a protection against fire. 

They fill the low places with water, affording 
an evaporation which has already made a per- 
ceptible modification of the climate. 

They accelerate forestry and in a hundred 
ways add to the advantage and comfort of life 
on the prairies. 

Surface wells of good water can be secured 
anywhere at from 15 to 50 feet. 

Naturai Gas 

South Dakota has the most extensive natural 
gas belt on the continent 

The area already determined is 50 by 150 
miles in extent. 

The deposit is found at 1,400 feet. 

It is used for heat, light and all kinds of 
power. 

10 



The gas wells at the same time furnish a 
tremendous flow of warm, soft water. 

Pierre, the state capital, is central in the gas 
belt. 

At Capa, a new town in the Teton valley, on 
the Northwestern extension west of Pierre, a 
well recently sunk furnishes a strong flow of 
hot water 135 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Minerals and Mining 

The Black Hills are the richest 100 miles 
square in the world. 

They are rich in gold, silver, lead, tin and 
numerous other metals. 

The annual mineral production of South Da- 
kota aggregates $10,000,000. 

Portland Cement 

The Missouri river bluffs bear, in close rela- 
tion, the lime rock and the clays which make 
the strongest Portland cement known. 

These deposits extend from Sioux City to 
above Pierre. 

The Western works at Yankton employ 100 
men and find an unlimited market for their 
splendid product. 

The supply is inexhaustible and there is a 
broad field for investment in the industry. 

State Institutions 

South Dakota is equipped with all the ma- 
chinery for development. 

It has a state university. 

An agricultural college. 

Four state normal schools. 

A school of mines. 

Schools for the deaf and blind. 

All are doing good work. 

And all are paid for. 

She has fully equipped and paid for a com- 
plete outfit of charitable, penal and reformatory 
institutions. 

A magnificent state capitol is now under 
erection. 

11 



The cost is paid from sale of capitol lands 
granted by government. 

The new homeseeker will be taxed for none 
of these. 

Public Schools 

South Dakota's public schools are the state's 
chiefest pride, and everywhere the pioneers 
planted white school houses even before they 
provided themselves with better than sod 
houses. 

There are now more than 147,000 school chil- 
dren, and their education costs nearly two mil- 
lion dollars per year. 

There is a complete course of study in the 
common schools, from which the pupils are 
regularly graduated at the completion of the 
eighth grade. 

From the common school the pupil passes by 
regular graduation to the high school and the 
university. 

Country school children are given free tuition 
in the city high schools. 

School Lands 

South Dakota has the grandest school fund 
of any state. 

Two million one hundred thousand acres of 
choice land. 

Not one acre can be sold for less than ten 
dollars. 

The constitution guarantees this. 

Two hundred and seventy thousand acres 
have thus far been sold at an average of $18 
per acre. 

The annual apportionment of interest already 
reaches $3.14 per capita. 

Native Grasses 

The native grasses of South Dakota are of 
exceptional value as food plants. 

They are chiefly of three varieties — 
Ordinary prairie grass. 
Blue joint, 
Buffalo grass. 

12 



The value of prairie grass and blue joint for 
hay is generally known. 

Buffalo grass is a wonderful pasture plant. 

It ripens on the stalk and is as nutritious in 
the winter as in the summer. 

It abounds everywhere west of the Sioux and 
is the secret of the value of the wonderful 
winter pastures. 

Manufacturing 

According to the census of 1900 the manu- 
factures of South Dakota amount to $12,230,239 
annually. 

They consist chiefly of flour, beer, cigars, 
Portland cement, harness, clothing and confec- 
tionery. 

Every locality invites manufacturing enter- 
prises. 

Wholesaling 

Wholesaling is well established, and is ex- 
tensively carried on at Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, 
Watertown, Pierre. Mitchell and Yankton. 

The lines represented embrace groceries, 
hardware, drugs, harness, fruits and machinery. 

The outlook for the jobbing trade is bright, 
and the enterprising cities of the state offer 
strong inducements for the location of jobbing 
houses. 

Private Finances 

The people of the state are prosperous. 

The banks are overflowing with funds. 

More than $58,000,000 are on deposit in the 
banks of South Dakota. 

These are the deposits of the common people. 

There are no very rich men or great corpo- 
rations reii resented in the bank deposits of 
South Dakota. 

Churches 

All the denominations are well represented 
in the state, both with societies and church 
buildings. 

These are conveniently located both in town 
and in the country. 

13 



Most of the denominations have strong edu- 
cational institutions. 

The Methodists have colleges at Mitchell and 
Hot Springs. 

The Congregationalists at Yankton and Red- 
field. 

The Presbyterians at Huron. 

The Baptists at Sioux Falls. 

'f'he Scandinavian Lutherans at Sioux Falls 
and Canton. 

The Episcopalians at Sioux Falls. 

The Catholics have well equipped academies 
at Aberdeen, Sturgis, Elkton, Marion, Vermil- 
lion and other points. 

The Mennonites at Freeman. 

The Catholics also maintain excellent hos- 
pitals at Pierre, Yankton, Aberdeen, Webster 
and Hot Springs. 

The Scandinavian Lutherans have an orphan 
asylum at Beresford. 

Politics 

South Dakota is strongly Republican in poli- 
tics. The majority at 1904 election was 50,089. 
The total vote, 101,379. 

Railroads 

Every portion of the eastern section is ac- 
cessible to railroads and many new lines are 
projected. 

Three lines west of the Missouri were built 
during 1906. 

The Milwaukee from Chamberlain to Black 
Hills. 

The same road from Glenham towards Pa- 
cific coast. 

The Northwestern from Pierre to Rapid City. 

They open a magnificent country hitherto not 
accessible. 

Many business opportunities are open along 
these lines. 

The Minneapolis & St. Louis has completed 
an extension, Watertown to Leola via Aber- 
deen and west fi'om Conde to the Missouri. 

14 



A HALF CENTURY 



South Dakota is no longer an experiment. 
Fifty years have elapsed since the agricultural 
population first came into the state, and .the 
entire portion east of the Missouri has been 
settled for more than twenty years. The pio- 
neer settlers were confronted with new condi- 
tions. Many of them, who came to Dakota as 
homesteaders, were factory operatives and 
tradesmen, wholly inexperienced in agriculture. 
That many should fail and give up in discour- 
agement was inevitable. And, too, there were 
periods calculated to try the hearts of the most 
experienced. Fire, flood, drought, seem to be 
the portion of the pioneer in every section, and 
South Dakota has been no exception to the gen- 
eral rule. But once tried out, nature turns to 
the ])ioneer a smiling countenance and showers 
the faithful ones with many favors. So it has 
been in Dakota. The men and women who 
had the faith and courage to stick it out have 
learned the heart secrets of the mother state 
and she has given to them the blessings of 
great happiness and prosperity. She has taught 
them the trick of the soil. Inch by inch she 
has yielded to them for fruitful agriculture 
until all of her abounding domain blossoms 
with rich harvests or nourishing pastures 
where uncounted herds fatten on the lush 
grasses; and where once the buffalo and the 
antelope panted for water there now gush from 
her bosom many hundreds of never failing foun- 
tains, feeding purling streams and beautiful 
lakes, about which spring groves to shade and 

15 



comfort the land. Even her breath, once hot 
and scorching as a desert wind, has become 
soft and humid, bearing frequent showers to 
refresh the earth. 

In other words, fifty years of occupation 
and experience have taught the Soutli Dakotan 
liow to avail himself of the natural conditions 
and how to adapt his methods to the best ends, 
and in this age, where material results are the 
measure of all values. South Dakota passes 
the extreme test, for she yields to her people 
more per capita wealth than any other com- 
monwealth. 

To summarize in a paragraph the advantages 
which South Dakota presents to the home- 
seeker, it may be said that the soil is uniformly 
fertile, producing fair returns of all field crops 
indigenous to the northern states. Wheat grow- 
ing is no longer a chief dependence, though 
a gooJ average crop can always be counted 
upon. Corn is fast encroaching upon the wheat 
fields with most advantageous results. Barley 
is a sure and profitable crop of groVing import- 
ance. Flax is extensively and profitably 
grown. Hay and fodder grow in prodigious 
quantities and find a profitable market for ship- 
ment. Dairying has revolutionized many sec- 
tions and is unquestionably the coming great 
industry of the state, already adding millions 
per year to her wealth. Cattle, hogs, sheep and 
horses are turning thirty-five millions per year 
into the coffers of our breeders and feeders. It 
is the great live stock paradise, for here 

"A dollar a year will keep a steer.'' 

These are some of the material advantages 
offered. On the other side South Dakota offers 
a highly developed citizenship, fully organized 
for all humanities. Schools, churches, univer- 
sities, hospitals. Intelligence, sobriety, mor- 
ality, patriotism. Everything which combines 
to make the home congenial, comfortable and 
prosperous. 

DOANE ROBIXSOX. 
16 



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IkH 5:4 :-A'^ 



SOUtl LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



Offef 
Adv2 



016 092 282 5 



FARMER AND 
HOMESEEKER 



Nowhere else can you find such desir= 

able conditions and land values 

so reasonable as here 



For detailed information call upon 
or write to 



